The Hill: Lakeside villa was residence
of stage-coach magnate William Weller
By Peggy Wright

At the foot of Tremaine Street,
occupying a fine position over-
looking the lake, stands The Hill,
aptly named for it's magestic
location. It is a house with a full
history and many prominent
owners.

It was built in 1844 by James
Grieves for Winkworth Tre-
maine (hence the street name), a
merchant who was originally
from Nova Scotia.

Grieves' granddaughter, Har-
riet Miklejohn, was a pioneer in
public health nursing.

Tremaine rented a store at the
south-west corner of King and
Division streets from Benjamin
Throop from 1838 onwards. He
was also vice-president of the
Cobourg Board of Trade, as re-
ported in the Cobourg Star on
Sept. 17,1845.

He sold the home and moved to
Quebec City around 1850.
The house then became the
home of William Weller, a "pub-
lic-spirited citizen of Cobourg",
according to Guillett's Cobourg
1798 to 1948.

Weller came first to Cobourg in
1833, and originally lived at the
corner of King and Cottesmore
streets.

He was married twice and
fathered 22 children.

His best-known venture was
the stage-coach line which he
purchased in 1829.

Weller improved the small line
quickly and, by 1831, had acquired
the Royal Mail contract between
Montreal and Toronto.

In 1834, Weller also bought a
controlling interest in the Inter-
national Telegraph Line. Again
he re-vamped the company, and
greatly increased business.

There were four telegraph
lines, running from Toronto to
Montreal, Hamilton, Colling-
wood and Buffalo.

With this purchase, Weller had
under his control two of the three
most important means of com-
munication.

Although Toronto was the
main depot for the stage-coach
line, Cobourg was the "nerve
centre."

There was tri-weekly service
in 1835 between Cobourg, Peter-
borough and Peterborough. The
Cobourg Star called it "regular,
safe, and speedy communica-
tion."

Also in 1835, Weller purchased
the Steam Boat Hotel on King
Street East. Re-named it The
Albion in 1837. It was the chief
stopping place for the stages un-
til The Globe Hotel was built in
1846.

An addition to the Albion still
stands at 20 King St. E. When the
sun shines a certain way, the let-
ters can still be seen beneath the
buff-colored paint.

Many of the coaches used by
Weller were built in Cobourg,
and a few were imported. There
was a workshop at the corner of
George and Orange streets and
later a repair shop on Swayne
Street, which was called Weller's
Carriage Works.

Weller was known for his great
care in the construction of the
coaches, and for their quality
and appearance.

One woman commented that
they were "very showy -- not un-
like the Lord Mayor's state car-
riage."(ref. Guillett).

There is one well-known story
concerning Weller and his Royal
Mail Line which deserves re-
peating.

In February 1840, Mr. Poulett
Thompson (later Lord
Sydenham), governor-general at
the time, needed a quick trip
from Toronto to Montreal to re-
prieve a criminal who had been
sentenced to death.

Weller said he could do it in
less than 38 hours, and drove the
sleigh himself.

He also wagered 1,000 pounds
sterling that he would arrive
within the set time.

Horses were changed at inter-
vals, but Weller remained on the
box seat for the entire distance.
The sleighs raced 375 miles to
Montreal in a time of three hours
40 minutes.

The Cornwall Observer refer-
red to the covered sleighs as
"caravans of wild beasts."
Weller won his bet and was
given an inscribed gold watch by
the governor-general.

Even with his fine reputation,
Weller's stage-coach line ended
in 1856 with the completion of the
Grand Trunk Railway.

However, Weller had his finger
in a number of pies, and In all of
them he was a respected partici-
pant.

He was president of the
Cobourg-Rice Lake Plank Road
and Ferry Company. He was
president of the Board of Police
in 1838,1843 and 1844 and became
the first mayor of Cobourg in 1850
(and again in '51 and '63).

He also spearheaded the New-
castle District Jockey Club with
D'Arcy Boulton and Henry
Covert.

Some of Weller's children rose
to prominence.

John Laine Weller, the
youngest son, was instrumental
in building the last portion of the
Welland Canal.

Charles became a judge in
Peterborough, and William Hen-
ry was a barrister who was
appointed master of chancery
for this area in the Supreme
Court.

Daughter Eliza married
George M. Clark, solicitor-
general for the Canadian Pacific
Railway.

Weller died at the Hill on Sept.
21, 1863 and was buried with full
Masonic honors, having been a
distinguished member of that
fraternity.

The house then passed to
George Ley, an English gentle-
man who also had a large
amount of land in Gore's
Landing.

He, in turn, sold to Miss Allan,
daughter of Sir Hugh Allan and
aunt of Sir Montague Allan, own-
ers of the large Allan Steamsiup
Line based in Montreal.

In 1902, The Hill became the
property of Mrs. Nellie Grant
Sartoris. During the previous
year, she had rented a grand
summer home on King St. E.,
called Heathcote.

Sartoris was the daughter of
Ulysses S. Grant, President of
the United Slates from 1869-77.
She was married to Algernon
Sartoris, an English gentleman
from a family of large landown-
ers in England.

They re-named the residence
Claremont. The family used it as
a summer home for about 20
years.

They built a huge addition on
the east side, which contained a
ballroom, and also constructed a
small stucco house, which still
stands, close to the road.

The family were part of that
wealthy circle who came to
Cobourg for the high social life
and exceptionally clean air.
There was once a belief that the
local atmosphere contained high
levels of health-giving ozone.

There were three children. In
1902, daughter Vivian was given
one of the grandest weddings
Cobourg has ever seen.

The wedding register was
crammed with names of high
society who had travelled from
all parts of the United States to
attend.

Vivian married Frank
Roosevelt Scovel. Scovel's
mother, Marsha, was a first
cousin to Theodore Roosevelt,
president of the United States
from 1901-09.

He was also a nephew of
Madame Albertini (nee Scovel),
a famous opera singer who lived
at Interlaken. Now demolished,
her house used to stand on the
south side of King Street, just
east of Walton Street.

In 1921, the Sisters of St.
Joseph from Peterborough
bought The Hill.

Re-named the St. Joseph
Orphanage for Girls, it served as
a residence for homeless girls
from across Ontario.

One of the first girls to enter
the house described it as "walk-
ing into a perfect castle which
had been left untouched for
years."

This first group were given a
grand tour of all 28 rooms. They
saw General Grant's carved iv-
ory table and mahogany bed.

The house contained all the
furniture left by the Sartoris
family. There were eight huge
fireplaces, and each bedroom
contained a floor-length mirror.
The ballroom contained one
enormous mirror, which gave a
wonderful reflection of the lake.

The latter was converted into a
chapel by the sisters.

The orphanage was nearly
self-sufficient, with a large
vegetable garden, two Holstein
cows and a hen-house.

In 1945, the orphanage closed,
and the property became Villa
St. Joseph.

It was used as a convent and
summer home by the sisters for a
number of years, but also fell
into a state of disrepair.

The property was restored in
1972 and now functions as a re-
treat.

The house occupies a serene
position overlooking the lake, the
double verandahs a reminder of
it's life as a summer residence.

Surrounded by tall trees, lilac
bushes, and a grand expanse of
lawn, it remains slightly re-
moved from town life.

The gothic detail and Georgian
form are well kept. It is a fine
example of a regency villa.

The Cobourg Daily Star would
like to acknowledge the assist-
ance of historian Rob Mikel with
some of the information con-
tained in this article.

Media Type:

Text

Item Type:

Clippings

Description:

The Hill: Lakeside villa was residence of stage-coach magnate William Weller
Source: The Cobourg Daily Star, Friday, June 17, 1998
Acquired: February 2008

My favourites lets you save items you like, tag them and group them into collections for your own personal use. Viewing "My favourites" will open in a new tab.
Login here or start a My favourites account.

My title:

My notes:

My tags:

My collections

Original title:

The Hill: Lakeside villa was residence of stage-coach magnate William Weller

Original description:

The Hill: Lakeside villa was residence of stage-coach magnate William Weller
Source: The Cobourg Daily Star, Friday, June 17, 1998
Acquired: February 2008